1987 Ford Aerostar Reviews

1987 Ford Aerostar LX 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

One mean indestructible machine

Faults:

Upon driving down a busy road, the brakes suddenly decided to give out. My father was driving at the time, and as we approached a yellow light at least 20 feet ahead, I noticed he was pumping the brake pedal furiously. The emergency brake stopped us, but it turns out a faulty brake line leaked all of the fluid out.

This van was from New York, and there is much corrosion on the underside of the van, due to salt from roadways.

The fiberglass tailgate almost fell off after the replaced hydraulics wore the hinge down. Actually, the metal hinge was fine, but the bolts ripped out of the fiberglass.

One thing I really don't like about Aerostars, and most owners can agree, is the extremely brittle bumpers. Mine are thoroughly broken.

General Comments:

I have just acquired this van from my dad, who got another one, a 1991. The van currently has in excess of 250,000 miles! Despite this, the transmission and engine are in great shape, even though my dad used it to pull horse trailers.

Although the body is in bad shape, the interior is still in good condition. It is probably one of the most comfortable vehicles I have ever driven.

One of the things I love about Aerostars in the rear-wheel-drive. Not many minivans have this, excluding the Astro. It is great for pulling heavy loads, although the gas mileage is not so great.

1987 Ford Aerostar 3.0, 6 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Faults:

The digital display for the RPM's, gas readout, mileage, and speedometer did not light up until the van broke down.

The transmission started slipping, and finally went out 4 months after we bought it.

Reverse never caught right.

General Comments:

Overall I am in love with the Aerostar van. Other than its looks, the van was very good when traveling. We put over 2100 miles on it just during long trips and it did very well, except when the power steering belt broke. Other than that it is a very comfortable ride, and Ford should use the seat design more often.

This van is not intended for use anywhere near sand! It is easy to get stuck even in the smallest amount of sand. I call it a brick when I am anywhere near sand because it only sinks.

It is also not very good maneuvering through traffic, although the acceleration is way past my expectations for a van.

Mileage decent for a van. Depending on where we were, we got between 19 MPG and 25 MPG. I think it could do better.